tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post5781803806080377129..comments2024-03-05T13:51:24.898-07:00Comments on Spacefreighters Lounge : WE LOVE OUR BAD SCIENCEUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-8215583685343029082010-07-02T10:18:16.930-06:002010-07-02T10:18:16.930-06:00I know in both grade school and high school I was ...I know in both grade school and high school I was very science oriented. I was even good at math. But like others, I was never encouraged to pursue it. In fact I think I was told there were no jobs like that (I guess they meant for a girl) Back then, a female had to take homeec, there was no option to take shop. So I guess I got the equivalent of a pat on the head and told to get practical training like typing so I could get a real girl's job. <br /><br />I ignored them and kept on reading the books I wanted, but I never did go to University.Pat Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08824114343214016153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-73232036015501431932010-07-02T10:09:56.874-06:002010-07-02T10:09:56.874-06:00Maybe "speculative science" would be an ...Maybe "speculative science" would be an alternative phrase, though I don't know that the connotation would be any better in some scientific circles.<br /><br />Pauline said: "If you've never watched EARTH TO THE MOON, it was eye opening to me and I lived through it."<br /><br />I LOVED that series! As a total space program groupie, I inhale anything involving the history of our space program (and the end result of that starry-eyed fascination is Outer Planets, my near future SFR).<br /><br />Science classes were also my worst in high school, not because I wasn't interested, but because chemistry, geometry, advanced math and physics weren't taught in a way my predominantly right-brain mind could grasp. But I took the classes anyway and absorbed at least some of the material. <br /><br />I rely heavily on a liberal dose of imagination when writing my SFR novels, but much of the fictional technology I wrote about a decade ago is now either a reality or in the R&D phase. <br /><br />Many at NASA or in the technology industries today cite Star Trek as their inspiration, so maybe we should recognize that speculative science is a motivator that leads to real science?L. A. Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01198035351359321392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-22611642692276766932010-07-02T09:57:24.554-06:002010-07-02T09:57:24.554-06:00See, that's the thing with what we "know....See, that's the thing with what we "know." It's always evolving, but so many act like its now fixed. It makes me laugh because when I was young, Pluto was still a planet and Uranus was unknown. Anyone who thinks there isn't more to know, more to learn, more to explore, hasn't been paying attention to the past. In every generation, hubris is a problem. (grin) and IMHO.Paulinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06673963438671468441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-11617299725389019752010-07-02T09:35:42.282-06:002010-07-02T09:35:42.282-06:00I find it fascinating that so many of us suffered ...I find it fascinating that so many of us suffered through poorly-taught science classes in school and/or were discouraged from pursuing science as a field of study and yet retain an interest in the concepts that science explains. As writers, we just found another way to express that interest, I suppose. And I agree with you, P.A., "bioengineered nanoviruses" are not necessarily bad science at all--but who's to say UFO's are either? We simply may not have adequate information at this time to make a determination. ;-)Donna S. Frelickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16431686010313020234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-91328580164359698522010-07-02T09:10:00.391-06:002010-07-02T09:10:00.391-06:00Poor teaching was, I think, part of my problem.I g...Poor teaching was, I think, part of my problem.I got good grades in math and sciences until I hit high school. Now this was back in '69 - '73. Women's movement was still making its way into rural areas. I remember I did this aptitude test where you had to look at flattened boxes and pick what they'd be like put together. I did a great job at it and my guidance counselor told me I would be good interior designer. If you saw my house, you'd know how screamingly funny/wrong that was. I don't know what it might have measured, but I'm sure the results and advice were weighted by my sex. <br /><br />I also know, when I tried to get help from teachers, I'd get the equivalent of the pat on the head. Maybe I still would have sucked, but I do wonder now. <br /><br />I do know, that back then, scholarship WAS admired, though that had changed a lot once my kids went to high school.<br /><br />I think we dreamed bigger back then and believed more in taking impossible risks. If you've never watched EARTH TO THE MOON, it was eye opening to me and I lived through it. The innovation that went into putting men on the moon is very inspiring. In particular, the episode on the fire is good discussion on why we take risks. <br /><br />IMHO.Paulinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06673963438671468441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-21833708165613014942010-07-02T09:01:09.588-06:002010-07-02T09:01:09.588-06:00Very good article. Except in classing bioengineere...Very good article. Except in classing bioengineered nano-viruses as bad science. There's nothing bad about the science of nanotechnology, but it's a nascent technology and who knows where it will go. But as a science it is very much alive and well. <br /><br />If a hundred years ago someone had written about building a space station in outer space it would have been called bad science, but they had Kittyhawk and knew man could fly. From there it's just science catching up. <br /><br />No one involved in early computers ever foresaw the netbook or Blackberry or Kindle. Or even the Internet, for that matter. But the original differential machines, as they were called in the very beginning, were the seeds to those things. Faster than light travel, time travel and other fringe ideas are bad science, but they are necessary to our stories. In my opinion, if you lay the groundwork in your story, any bad science can seem real.Pat Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08824114343214016153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-41247517065572150072010-06-30T04:10:43.075-06:002010-06-30T04:10:43.075-06:00You know I think another problem with science in s...You know I think another problem with science in schools is when you teach to a curriculum. it doesn't lead to free-thinking and experimentation outside the box! We didn't used to be so prescriptive in the UK as we are now. I wonder if that will ahve a knock on effect down the line. less and less people are studying science to a higher level already. Without that basis - what can follow? <br /><br />I speak here as someone who was terrible at all sciences except biology! I only 'got' physics once my kids brought their homework back. I think I must blame some of my lack of understanding on poor teaching at a time when girls were just not thought to be science orientated.Barbara Elsborghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15825994197656747262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-79051640368032778172010-06-29T19:47:25.322-06:002010-06-29T19:47:25.322-06:00Well said!
I skipped out on chemistry in high sch...Well said!<br /><br />I skipped out on chemistry in high school. At the time, I thought I was so clever, but ever since then I totally regret it. Ironic, too, since I later became a huge SF fan.<br /><br />A good story trumps all, especially if the goal is to entertain as many people as possible. If someone is inspired to learn about real-life science by way of commercial SF/SFR, then that's icing on the cake.Heather Masseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00913459109753829391noreply@blogger.com